Sweet cherry rootstock studies: Comparisons of Prunus cerasus L. and Prunus hybrid clones as rootstocks for Van, Merton Glory and Merpet scions

SummarySixteen Prunus species and hybrid clones were tested as potential dwarfing rootstocks for the sweet cherry scion cvs Van, Merton Glory and/or Merpet. The trials were grown without irrigation on light loam soils at Horticulture Research International, East Mailing, UK. Although several of the rootstocks produced fully dwarfed trees, only one, a clone of P. mugus, showed good nursery budtake and tree longevity. Trees on another dwarfing rootstock, Gisela 1 (Gi.172/9), grew very poorly on this site and several of the trees died before the completion of the experiment. Trees on Gi.202/2 and MxM 39 both showed poor graft compatibility. Although not fully dwarfing, several other rootstocks tested showed great promise by inducing excellent yield precocity and productivity. Amongst the most promising rootstocks were Weiroot 10, Gi.195/4 and Gisela 6 (Gi.148/1).